Pages

Tell the FCC: Talk Radio is NOT Bonafide News!

President Obama recently nominated Tom Wheeler
as the new Chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the
federal agency tasked with protecting the public interest in
broadcasting, particularly over our public airwaves.
One of the first questions Wheeler's FCC will have to (reluctantly?) decide: Is Talk Radio the same as "bonafide news"?

More than three quarters of the American public say no, according to Pew Research,
and one would think an agency sworn to protect the public interest and
its airwaves would agree with that vast majority. But will Wheeler
choose to put the public interest first, or will his FCC continue to
simply turn a blind eye, as the agency has done since the Reagan
administration?
After what we documented last year in Wisconsin, and after official
complaints were filed in turn with the FCC about how corporate radio
stations there appear to have abused their licensed privilege to
broadcast over our public airwaves, that question may finally have to be answered by the federal agency tasked with enforcing the law over those very airwaves...
This "bonafide news" question has its roots in an urgent complaint
filed at the FCC in the middle of the 2012 Scott Walker gubernatorial
recall campaign in Wisconsin. Two huge local AM radio stations (WISN and
WTMJ) were actively promoting candidate Walker on their local talk radio programs for about 160 minutes a day, every day,
even using our publicly-owned airwaves to recruit volunteers for the
Walker campaign. But neither station would allow a single supporter of
the other candidate (Democrat Tom Barrett) on their shows.
Such selective private censorship over our public airwavesviolates not only the First Amendment - by denying certain individuals free speech - but also the "Zapple Doctrine,"
a little known FCC rule (also called the quasi-equal opportunities
rule) that requires stations to provide comparable time for supporters
of both political parties when it is requested.
With assistance from the Media Action Center (MAC),
Wisconsin citizens filed a complaint on May 24, 2012, expecting to have
the matter resolved before the 2012 general election. But nothing
happened.
MAC next filed a legal petition to deny the operating license of WTMJ. That finally forced WTMJ attorneys to respond, and respond they did
--- with a Hail Mary maneuver, asserting, among other things, that
their talk radio shows (which use the airwaves with biased political
intent, including the use of racist comments) are actually "bonafide news."
Historically, lawmakers understood the need for a firewall between
political rhetoric and real news reporting, because the "bonafide news"
exemption was ensconced in the 1934 Communications Act.
("Bonafide news" programs get the exemption so they can report on
candidates' events as they occur.) It remains the law to this day, and
WTMJ, despite the content they actually provide over our
airwaves, is now attempting to exploit that provision for all that it's
worth. And, if they are able to continue to do so --- it is worth
plenty.
However, just because that restriction is built into the law does not mean the FCC will necessarily either enforce or obey it.
(For example, on issues of the lack of women and minorities having
access to radio licenses, and of allowing radio and TV stations and
newspapers in the same town to have the same owner, as we reported back in 2011,
the Third Circuit Court of Appeals has twice remanded the FCC to listen
to the public and act in the public interest. The FCC pretends to
listen, then moves ahead with its industry-friendly agenda anyway, which
puts them back into the courts to be remanded yet again.)
So perhaps it is no surprise that one year --- and six elections --- after the initial Wisconsin complaint, the FCC has still failed to act. (In fact, the agency initially denied receiving both the MAC complaint and the petition to deny, until the Media Action Center very publicly sent them proof of delivery.)
Enough. "We the People" are tired of waiting patiently for the FCC to
do its job. The people of Wisconsin cannot afford to go through yet
another campaign season with giant radio stations illegally promoting
one political party over another (and Wisconsin is not alone in this
bullying broadcast behavior.)
And on the issue of "bonafide news," if the FCC does what it normally
does --- that is, cave in to industry desires --- we can say goodbye to
any firewall between true journalism and propaganda over our public
airwaves. The blurring between fact and opinion will go unabated, and
Rush Limbaugh will be featured in journalism textbooks alongside Walter
Cronkite.
The good news is that three quarters of us DO understand the
difference between opinions and news, so we have time to turn back the
tide.
It starts with this petition. Please sign it and share it with others: Tell the FCC: Talk Radio is NOT Bonafide News.
We'll deliver the petition with everyone's signatures to FCC Chair
Wheeler upon his expected Senate confirmation. We will see what he
does, and we will act accordingly.

1 comment:

Anonymous
said...

Care to show your ownership papers, the real question is what forms of government dictate the content of any media? hint dictate is part of the name. http://peoplesrepubmadison.wordpress.com/2013/06/04/the-queen-of-censorship-is-back/

CeaseSPIN.org News Quality Rating System

Top 40 Best Documentaries

About Me

Sue Wilson tells important stories which move politicians to act. She is the Emmy winning director of the media reform documentary "Broadcast Blues" and editor of SueWilsonReports.com.
Broadcast Blues sets its sights on media policy, and www.SueWilsonReports.com turns a critical eye on the media itself.
She recently formed an activist site, http://www.MediaActionCenter.net